Strange feeling (about college admissions) as an Asian

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>I got studied hard/got lucky with the SAT and got a 2380. At first I felt like I was ready to apply to places like Harvard EA, MIT EA, Princeton, Yale, etc. After all, I have competitive stuff like club presidencies, research, science fair awards, orchestral stuff, various whatever, on top of good GPA, SAT IIs, and APs. I'm asian by the way.</p>

<p>However, now that my excitement has died down from finally getting a good SAT score, I realize that I still won't apply Harvard EA. MIT EA, princeton etc, or if I do, I won't apply with confidence, even though my credentials (or at least my #s) far exceed their average. It's not just a feeling either - from my fairly good public school's Naviance, nobody has gotten into schools with my #s. Maybe one or two, but they most likely were not Asian and they may have had legacy. My public school, while good, simply does not send kids with high scores to good schools (and I know that good scores =/= acceptance). My only solid shot is at a place like ED Upenn, where the ED gives me a huge boost. I know that I have a chance of being rejected from ALL the top schools (HYPSM), despite being seemingly qualified from all of them. </p>

<p>Why is this? If I were black, would I get into all of them? If I had gone to some rich private school with no AP classes that sends more than half its class to ivies, would I be able to get in with even lower stats? If I had some sort of legacy, would I suddenly be set and have a fighting chance? </p>

<p>Suddenly I realize that all my hard work, well, it didn't mean too much. I don't mean to say I regret it - I wish I had worked harder at some points. But being an asian male from a regular public school and no hooks whatsoever - I know I don't have much of a solid chance at HYPSM. It makes me feel like things out of my control are weighed way too much. I'm the only person applying to Penn ED without legacy from my school (I live in PA) and that's asian, and I have the highest stats out of all of them (objectively and subjectively). If I get rejected and they get in, what should I think?</p>

<p>Now, I feel slightly bitter but I can't do anything about it. I'm the least asian kid I know besides the focus on academics (should this be viewed as a negative asian quality..?). I can't even use chopsticks, and I can't speak my native language lol. I'm 'whitewashed' so to speak (not really by choice, but I simply am who I am). Now I'm grouped into an asian demographic that has a tough chance at colleges. Is this right? </p>

<p>Anyways, wrote this in a stream of conciousness style after reading one of the many AA threads and thinking about the private schools that send 40-60% of their kids to Ivies when their NMSF rate is similar to my schools' (which sends like 5-7 kids to ivies/300 kids). What do you all think?</p>

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<p>The people who get into Harvard are, in order of of likelihood:</p>

<p>1) Legacy and kids with rich parents that can donate massive amounts of money to Yale, Harvard, et. al. Example: George Bush. </p>

<p>2) Upper-class kids from “elite” (read: expensive) private schools. </p>

<p>999) Talented kids that “hold down the fort” in terms of Harvard’s academic prowess.</p>

<p>–</p>

<p>Tough luck kid. Asian-Americans are headed toward this dead end in this mythical land of social mobility. All we want to be are doctors and engineers - aka upper-middle class folks. </p>

<p>But look at the white people. Some are becoming doctors. Many are becoming CEOs, politicians, and businessmen - the people that actually run America. Nobody listens to a upper-middle class guy. Every politician listens to a CEO that can donate a couple million to a campaign. And look at the CEOs. I don’t see any Asians, save Jerry Yang of Yahoo, a sinking company.</p>

<p>Bottom line: politicians run America, and Asians aren’t getting anywhere by aiming to become doctors and engineers. Politicians run this show called “America.”</p>

3

<p>Stop the pity party and realize there are greater things to accomplish than getting into a decently above average university that happens to have a tiny acceptance rate. With all your intelligence you could be doing something amazing. Focus on what’s important, not the superficial. You can’t control your race.</p>

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<p>I had no choice to be born into an Asian American family, and it’s sad that it determines where I can go to college. You know what? **** my “over-represented minority” status. IceQube is right. </p>

<p>It’s only by blazing your own path and working harder than the priveleged people that you get ahead. My dad came from China with not a penny to his name, got his PhD from a no-name university in Canada, and now is a high-up director at a big investment firm with several Harvard, Wharton, Ivy league grads doing his bidding. My father is by no means my hero, but that is how you ****ing do it. </p>

<p>Where you go to college has nothing to do with what you make of yourself. Sure, it might feel better to be wearing around that “Princeton” sweatshirt and adding “Princeton '16” to your facebook profile. Don’t complain, but work even harder to leave those who think they have it made in the dust.</p>

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<p>I agree. Don’t think that you have to be a doctor or engineer because your parents said so. AA lack representation in all facets of American society, whether it be politics or Hollywood. I would respect you more if you became an actor and not a doctor and landed some roles in Hollywood films, like Ian Anthony Dale did. </p>

<p>I know, this escape from security, is terrifying (Dostoevsky). But you should consider giving up your selfish interests of almost guaranteed employment as a doctor or something. Take the risk for the betterment of Asian-Americans in general. For example, maybe you should try to become a major Asian-American actor and gain us some recognition in Hollywood :)!</p>

<p>Bottom line: We are underrepresented. There are enough Asian-American doctors and engineers. Shake away tradition and penetrate into every facet of American society! </p>

<p>PS: Ever wonder why Hispanics and Blacks get a lowered cutoff (~180 for Hispanics) on the PSAT? Because they have political representation!!! But look around? How many Asian-American politicians do you see?</p>

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<p>Oops, I didn’t intend this to be a pity party, but I see where you’re coming from lol. Merely felt the need to say something about my thoughts after reading/thinking about some stuff.</p>

<p>Anyways, yea, what is, is.</p>

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<p>^
What lower cutoff?</p>

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<p>I think you’re mistaking getting into Harvard as some kind of mark of achievement. It’s a school like any other school, and no matter where you attend you’ll end up liking the place and come to view it as a home, and that’s the most important part. Why even apply to Penn ED? What do you know about Penn besides the name? What’s wrong about choosing a school like Vassar over Harvard or Penn?</p>

<p>You make it sound as though the 2380 surpasses in value and in importance all the other “club presidencies, research, science fair awards, orchestral stuff” etc, when it is precisely those “other stuff” that really matter, both in college admissions and in life. If you were born to a different family or a different ethnicity, chances are that you wouldn’t value the SAT as much as you do or perform as well academically.</p>

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<p>All this has been said so many times: you can only control who you are and what you do. I can complain all day about how life is unfair blahblahblah. Just make life meaningful. Why else are you living? (lol I went on a tangent but whatever) Go to a school that makes you happy, and do things that make you happy.</p>

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<p>Even if you get the ****tiest hand in the world, how you play them can still make a huge difference.</p>

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<p>All the Asians at my school are smart. There’s like two or three, but still.</p>

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<p>Harvard’s acceptance rate for legacies is around 40%. Just think about that. The overall acceptance rate is around 7%</p>

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<p>Oh I have many reasons to go to Penn. I love the school. Its dual degree programs, its distance, its location/campus, its social aura, its 4 school policy that lets me take a variety of classes, its interdisciplinary focus, etc. </p>

<p>But I mentioned it because I have a solid chance there. Hopefully. <em>fingers crossed</em> !</p>

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<p>@cortana I’d like to see the statistics to back up those figures… 40% is just ridiculous.</p>

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<p>I think your comments about affirmative action are unfair. There was actually just a column about this in the Daily Pennsylvanian. The minorities at top schools deserve to be there just as much as everyone else. Maybe some of them do have lower test scores, but the SAT and ACT are biased tests and there are more valuable attributes than just high test scores. They don’t admit minorities who don’t have a strong chance of succeeding. From what I’ve seen, minorities here are just as involved if not more involved than other students and that is what makes a school great. Legacy admissions I agree feel very unfair, but try not to focus on that because it will just increase your anxiety.</p>

<p>If you are a genuine individual and seem like you will contribute to a school, you have a shot of getting in. But just having high scores and being president of five clubs does not make you the kind of person they are looking for. If you have done all of your activities for your resume, then how does admissions know you will continue these activities in college? Try to spend time to find out who you really are and what makes you tick instead of worrying about things like scores. If this was expressed in your essays and recommendations, then you will probably get into some good schools. But it’s a crapshoot, for everyone so try not to let the process get to you.</p>

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<p>Well, I hope so! I would rather this be the case; I’d feel better. And I take what you say more seriously since you can speak from experience (being in penn yourself!!).</p>

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<p>@dfree It’s around 30% actually sorry. [Legacy</a> Admit Rate at 30 Percent | News | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/5/11/admissions-fitzsimmons-legacy-legacies/]Legacy”>Legacy Admit Rate at 30 Percent | News | The Harvard Crimson)</p>

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<p>I don’t know where you got a lot of your information, but a lot of it is simply wrong.

  1. I go to a private school, and first of all, it is a selective group already, so it’s a given that there would be a slightly higher amount of kids going to a better school from there.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Secondly, you call it a “rich private school” but in reality, the truth is that about 1/3rd of the kids aren’t even that wealthy, they go to these schools on either full scholarship, or a large financial aid. It is then these kids on scholarship that are getting into the Ivies. In addition to that, it’s not half the kids that get into ivy league schools, there were 5 or 6 out of 100 in my class getting into ivy or HYPSM. </p></li>
<li><p>Thirdly, it is 100% untrue that we don’t take AP classes. If anything, our classes are much more difficult than most classes at public schools, requiring a lot more work to be put in for the average student.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Please don’t just make assumptions about how private schools are filled with rich kids, who don’t try, and get into Ivy league schools because they have rich parents, because that is completely untrue.</p>

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<p>Sorry if I’m ranting, but one more thing that annoyed me with your post. You talked about how whites have it a lot easier than asians, which even if it is slightly true, I still think of them as being in the same boat in terms of admissions. Look at some facts I found on Stanford admissions for example.
Asians make up 4.3% of the US, yet at Stanford they are 23% of the undergrads.
Whites make up 65.8% of the US, yet at Stanford are only 36% of the undergrads.
Which looks harder?</p>

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<p>Stop making excuses and apply already (or don’t apply, if that’s what you choose). No need to bash AA and private school kids either. Black people go through a lot of psychological warfare, the likes of which you wont understand. Imagine being expected to fail instead of succeed. But for some reason, people think that a virtually insignificant advantage in college admissions means we’re all living “the good life”. </p>

<p>I personally advocate changes in AA myself ( like shifting towards poor people rather than colored people) but dont think for any reason that Black kids and Hispanic kids in the Ivy League don’t deserve it</p>